The Big Think: The Future of Healthcare–Top 10 Trends That Are Changing Medicine
Healthcare is changing. Changing radically and driven by powerful forces of cost, technology and consumer empowerment.
Here's what you can look for:
1. The electronic medical record. All your health records will soon be stored electronically. The don't live in a file at the doctor's office, radiologist or hospital anymore. This "instantly accessible" tool will be a significant advance for care anywhere YOU may be. Further, the emergence of the EMR will help drive superior care and less medical errors as computers can flag potential problems.
2. The clinical cloud. It's no longer only your music that will be downloadable. But soon, your health record will be digital and follow you. You CAT scan and ECG are a click away for any necessary viewing.
3. Retail Medicine. Yep, it's already there. But the medi-clinics on the corner will be replaced by chain-style medical offices that will appear in your local mall or big box store. Even retail pharmacies will expand their service to include some medical care.
4. Smart phone monitoring. Your smart phone will monitor your ECG, blood sugar, sleep patterns (to name a few) and alert you and your doctor when there's a problem. It will track and record these trends and offer valuable diagnostic information.
5. Expert engagement at a distance. Distance is no longer an issue. With video engagement and the medical cloud at hand, difficult (and even simple) cases can be evaluated by experts around the world. Even surgical proceedures by physicians thousands of miles away--with the help of robotic.
6. Implantable devices. Pain, depression, and common conditions that are generally treated with pills will be succesfully managed with implantable devices that use both drugs and electric current to stimulate and normalize conditions with less toxicity and superior long-term managment.
7. On-line office visits. At-home diagnostic tools and data transfer to a physician's office will reduce the need for an actual office visit. Video conferencing and these diagnostic tools will provide an accurate assesment, care and risk-management.
8. The patient-doctor. The empowered patient will learn to make informed decisions based upon new at-home tools and techniques. We will measure our own blood chemistries and take and transmit our ECG's. Our actions, guided by experts will allow us to be engaged and informed.
9. Value driven intervention. Cost will emerge as a key factor in care. And value will be an important element. Patients will be rewarded for seeking cost-effective care and value seekers "shop around" procedures like CAT scans on the basis of technology and cost. Long gone will be the day of having a complex test without knowing or caring about the price.
10. The vanishing private practice. The economics of medicine are squeezing the solo practitioner. Seeing "your" doctor at Walmart may be more likely than that small practice in your home town.
The Big Think: Super Radiance and Cohesive Thought
There is a very interesting physics concept called SUPER RADIANCE. And while it's rather complicated, the short-hand version can be quickly understood. Let's say you have a particle that has a "strength" of 5 units. Add another similar particle and the total "strength" is 5 + 5 or 10 units strong. The more you add, the more "strength" is developed in a direct, linear fashion. A more practical exapmple is adding people to a team focused on a task. The more members of the team, the more powerful the "thinking" power--a bit like the idea that "two heads are better than one". (Yes, not the best example, but it's close)
Now enter the concept of SUPER RADIANCE. When certain particles are in a unique alignment, the emitted force isn't additive but exponential! So our two particles (with an individual strength = 5) no longer add up to 10 (5 + 5) but create the heightened force of 5 squared! (5 x 5) or 25!. The difference between 10 units and 25 units of strength! If we had 3 particles, the net strength would be 5 x 5 x 5 or 125. The physics is very interesting but for me, the interesting application is the relationship to consciousness and creative thought.
We have all experienced how certain groups of people "click". How the collective thought and output seem, in some unexplained way, seems greater than the sum of the parts!! It's just the human version of a profound quantum physics principal.
Got it?
It's subtle. But it's amazing just what happens when people "are on the same page" and experience that "flow" of mind.
In his seminal work, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi outlines his theory that people are most happy when they are in a state of flow— a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity at hand and the situation. It is a state in which people (alone or in a group) are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter. The idea of flow is identical to the feeling of being in the zone or in the groove. The flow state is an optimal state of intrinsic motivation where the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing. This is a feeling everyone has at times, characterized by a feeling of great absorption, engagement, fulfillment, and skill—and during which temporal concerns (time, food, ego-self, etc.) are typically ignored.
It's this interesting "flow" state that may represent the stepping stone to human SUPER RADIANCE.
Have you experience this? It's amazing place to be! And the results can be truly transformative and profound!
The Big Think: Jawbone Stepped UP!!!
The Jawbone UP is a great new product that has failed. At least for now. Here's what I initially had to say: http://www.johnnosta.com/2011/11/the-big-think-health-revolution-and-the-jawbone-up/
But when you take a closer look at where the product stands today, you see something bigger than innovation. You see integrity. And that's something you often don't see in today's world of vanishing accountability.
The bottom line is that Jawbone launched a product that was flawed. I received mine with tremendous excitement and felt that this truly represented an important innovation in health technology. I slapped it on my wrist and marveled at the analysis--sleep, steps, GPS, etc. But then it happened. The battery failed....and my enthusiasm acted similarly. So, then came step one. I contacted the company and they quickly sent me another one. Then other issues emerged and it became clear that many other people had significant issues with the UP.
Jawbone arrived at the cross-roads.
So what did they do? They did the right thing! They issued a no questions asked refund. And...now wait for it...they let you keep the product!!
Jawbone lost a battle but won the war. The maintained their integrity.
Sure they launched a product that wasn't ready. But they've keep me as a customer and have even moved me to consider other Jawbone products. I like the fact they once they've accepted responsibility, they acted accordingly. It's a far cry from the standard today--accepting some responsibly and only offering an anemic excuse.
Too bad about the product, Jawbone. But you did something that will pay off in the future!
The Big Think: Make Me Look–The Power of Imagery
Anyone with a smart phone or an iPad knows one cental fact. The world is not only becoming digital but visual too!
Look! It's exactly that. The ability to stop us in our tracks and make us look...think...and act!!! Today's digital world makes retouchers out of all of us and the potential for new visuals and ideas is endless. The role of engaging visuals is a powerful tool to help make our communications "stick". So, a comfortable pair of shoes might conger an image like this...
Lace up your feet for shoe-less comfort!
And then there's time! How many core concepts have used time as the central element? Too many. But I think this is an interesting presentation of an " spiral of time" that falls endlessly into the abyss.
Lost in Time.
And sometimes, visuals can be freakish and push us out of our comfort zone! But we all know that car accidents get lots of eyeballs. It's visual disruption that can dramatize a scenario or condition that, in the context of it's horror, drives empathy with your audience.
Allergies and itchy eyes: No one knows it better!
Vision lights up our brains and engages our neuroanatomy. So, fire up your brain with visuals that ignite thinking and drive action!
The Big Think: An Elusive Brand Hallmark that David Ogilvy Understood
Brand hallmarks are an essential part of building a brand. Color, typography, and the usual suspects are all part of list. There's nothing new here.
Enter David Ogilvy and the man in the Hathaway shirt.
At first glance you see a distinguished man with his classic white shirt. But what about that eye patch!!?? What the heck was David thinking? He was using a rare but very effective brand hallmark that adds a bit of intellectual spark to a concept. I call it the "enigmatic wink". It's not a graphic element that fits into the typical brand narrative, but provides a dissonant component that grabs you...and drives a conscious and unconscious event that "sticks to the roof of your brain". And the enigmatic wink isn't something that requires specific explaination. It just is. And there lies the magic.
Now in today's world of over-regulation and over-thinking this device is often cast aside as confusing and unnecessary. It's easy to imagine some of the comments Ogilvy might have heard from the Hathaway brand manager: "Is this shirt for pirates?" Or, "are we selling to the sight-impaired?!"
Lesser minds result in lesser advertising.
What David Ogilvy introduced was an element of intellectual whimsy that took a creative concept to new (and enigmatic) heights. In today's robust digital world, the wink has the potential to evolve to some very interesting and engaging things. But sorry, I'm not giving them away here. So, when you create your next brand or concept, remember to "wink" at your audience. The brand brand manager will cry fowl, the account executive will look confused and the initial idea will travel that precarious path have have all seen. But hold your ground! It's this very path that is the road to excellence!
The Big Think: Health Revolution and the Jawbone Up
Innovation in healthcare is taking many forms. From biotechnology to mobile apps, our "curve of innovation" is getting steep and the applications to our lives are rushing at us with amazing speed. A new device can now measure our physical activity and provide a simple, app-based presentation of these data. It's an automatic activity and lifestyle diary. And it's a peek at the future of healthcare...
It's called Up by Jawbone. http://www.jawbone.com/up It's an interesting device that's worn around your wrist and tracks some aspects of our lives including physical activity, sleep and eating. The activity mode will tell how many steps you've taken, when you're inactive for too long and also help establish goals to increase exercise. The sleep mode monitors our sleep patterns and provides a histogram of sleep that is broken into awake, light, and deep sleep. It will even vibrate at a optimal morning time based on selecting a "wake time" that isn't during a deep or REM cycle. Finally, you can track the foods you eat and establish patters to optimize nutrition and reveal how certain foods can make you feel (better or worse).
Here's the point: The Up is here to stay! Perhaps not this actual product as some bugs still need to be resolved. But the application to health and wellness it significant and important! Direct monitoring of these activities can provide essential information to guide your individual wellness, but also can be a tool to track activity and sleep as a measure of drug or device efficacy--by a physician or a pharmaceutical company. The clinical and lifestyle utility is endless. And as technology advances, the use of small and unobtrusive devices to record blood pressure and blood chemistries (like serum glucose), ECGs and EEGs, respiration and a host of other yet discovered uses will make devices like the UP a breakthrough in health and fittness that will help redefine how well we take care of ourselves!
In the not-to-distant future, a simple device like this will be a standard tool for the primary care physician. You will download (or drop off) your "digital health diary" to the doctor's office and have the stored information be the basis for your "virtual physicial". You don't need be there--just leave the data. And with certain conditions, where frequent monitoring is required, this can provide superior care at reduced utilization and cost.
So, "way to go" Jawbone Up!!! You're a major step forward in the new world order of health and wellness!
The Big Think: Insurance Advertising and the Rush to Parity
I really enjoy the new insurance advertising. It's a refreshing change from the traditional and conservative spots that have defined the industry.
First came along Geico. From lizards to cavemen, they captured mindshare and the dollars followed.
Then Progressive and Flo captured our imagination. She's the quirky voice of Progressive who has more than just a brand presence, she's also emerged as a bit of celebrity with a her own Facebook following.
Then came along...ahhh? Well, it was either some skinny guy from Nationwide or a more sinister character who cause (and was named) mayhem. Afterwhich there was a funny concept from Farmer's Insurance. I think?
So, here you have it. A lizard, Flo, a freaky guy, a funny guy, a caveman, a vanishing deductible, and an entire industry that has now become define by the quirky character.
I think it's great that this generally conservative industry has broken free and engaged our minds a bit more. But it feels to me that each of these companies is chasing the same core concept. It's almost as if there was a chain reaction in the executive suites where each CEO called for "my quirky character". And it was not as a new, innovative approach to advertising, but to follow the successful lead of other companies. It's a common reaction amoung marketers--to envy a competor's success and to copy the concept / tactic. But what's happened here is that all these "innovative" advertising campaigns have largely landed in the same spot! They are all fighting for the same mind space with a desire to "go with their own Flo".
What's left are a series of vignettes--from cool to cute--that fail to effectively differentiate each of these brands.
Yes, some cool TV spots, but I can't remember who saves me from mayhem or who makes my deductible vanish!
The Big Think: RIP Keyboard. Introducing Phonetic Marketing
Can you write...as in with a pen? Well, you don't need that skill anymore!
Can you type...as in QWERT or hunt and peck? That's gone too!
What's emerging in today's technology world is s the marriage of artificial intelligence and voice recognition. It's really nothing new. But the iPhone4S is bringing it to life!!!
So, enter Phonetic Marketing. Sound!!!!! The actual articulation of brands and all the associated word play will now become another element to our marketing bag of tricks. Perhaps even phonetic signals will be incorporated into brand hallmarks!! Getting people to "play" with the brand sounds can now leverage gaming and other verbal techniques to harness mindshare.
And then there's Phonetic SEO!!! The ability for new "funky" brand names (often the case in the pharmaceutical world, for example) to be recognized within the AI lexicon will become an essential part of "search recognition"!
Ahhh...
The spoken word! Sound energy that now comes to life in the techno / digital world!
The Big Think: Sadness fills my computer screen
There were few like him.
An innovator cut from a magical cloth that cloaked all our lives.
And today, my ipad is a touch slower. My MacBook Pro gleems just a tad less brightly. And my iphone rings a sad tone.
The news, somewhat expected, still stopped me in my in my tracks. Frozen and lost in almost a vacuum of thought. The void that Steve Jobs leaves is deep and profound and it travels across the internet with a gentle touch that embraces his memory with compassion, love and a special sensitivity that is so unique to Steve.
We have lost something that is difficult to grasp...and only time will let his memory form in the richness of his accomplishments.
Think different. And with those thoughts, remember a man who change my world
The Big Think: Think, Search & Act—-Using SEO to Craft Your Message
SEO. It seems everywhere I turn, search engine optimization shows up. Now I know I spend time in odd places (like advertising agencies), but something important is going on here.
We often take concepts like "key word selection" as part of our digital sphere and delegate it off to the technocrats to do what they do. But there's something much richer here. Key words are an essential part of crafting and refining a powerful promotional message.
THINK--the cognitive and amorphous aspect of our desire. The impulse and drive. OUR DESIRE FOR THE BRAND!
SEARCH--the very specific words that define our intellectual and emotional journey. OUR SEARCH FOR THE BRAND
ACT--Thought brought to life. Our behavior. OUR PURCHASE AND ADOPTION OF THE BRAND.
What happens between THINK and ACT is the powerful fulcrum of behavior.
Key words are actually the bridge between DESIRE and ACTION in the digital world and provide a a two-way street of information!! The application of key words, and the resultant hits, allow us to refine our message based upon the success and failure. It's market research right at your finger tips.
So, the next time you talk about SEO and key word selection, look at it prospectively and retrospectively. This methodology will help discover the "search terms" that should be part of your messaging--not the other way around.
The key observation is that very often, the messaging (typically done first) doesn't match up with the real-world search dynamics of the audience.
Search on....but be smart about it!